Visions of Self
by EnigmaticThief
Summary: An Elise Redd sidestory based on the world of The Wotch. After being turned into a heartless Fallen, Elise struggles to regain control of her body. Meanwhile, the Resistance is looking for her, as well. Will their paths cross in time?
1. Chapter 1

Visions of Self

Elise Redd Side Story

Copyright Matthew Leuthy 2005

Chapter 1

Around him the night air chilled his blood as the moon cast the forest into stark, wild patterns of light and dark. He didn't think, but rather concentrated on running. It was the only thing he could do, the only way he could escape. The eyes that wouldn't leave him; the low hiss that was like no animal he'd heard before; the rustle of the underbrush; all this told him to run, not knowing where. Aside from these the only things he could recognize were the path in front of him and the desperate beating of his own heart. His fear was trying to protect him, but in a cruel twist of fate, it betrayed him, as he didn't see the root rising out of the ground in front of him. When his foot hit the root time seemed to stop, and as he fell he knew that he wouldn't be able to get up on his own any time soon. Instinctively clutching his injured ankle, the young man again heard that menacing hiss, accompanied by a dark shadow that swiftly moved over him. All he could do is stare up into the blank face of the creature that had hunted him. A flash of red, and then the world turned black.

…

"Ah, there you are," said the weary Kohain Ravime. "Troublesome thing." He could see what had once been Elise Redd hunched over the body of a young man. The pitiful figure's blood had been spilt across the forest path, a large gash showing on his neck. A few trace drops of life were dripping from the Fallen's clawed hands, its bright red hue easily melding with the tone of her skin. Kohain approached, but started as the Fallen Redd sent a hateful hiss in his direction. It was like a predator protecting a fresh kill from a scavenger, only Kohain had absolutely no concern for the dead man and Fallen Redd was incapable of consumption. "This 'fun' of yours is beginning to irritate me," Kohain tritely spat back at the Fallen creature before him.

From behind Kohain another figure emerged from the darkness, this one vastly more imposing than Kohain's. His massive size, dark armor, and unseen face set him apart from all others in the land. As he spoke, the reverberation from inside his large armored helmet made his voice seem distant, but nonetheless powerful. "Think not long on it, Kohain," reprimanded the Dark Lord, Mellek Xaos.

"But master," said Kohain, "even though the effects of the Sword of Shadows is different for each being that meets its blade, I don't think I've ever seen a Fallen quite this… animalistic." As if on cue, Kohain's comment was met by another hiss from the fallen Redd. Kohain himself growled a bit under his breath in retaliation.

"As long as it obeys my commands," replied the Dark Lord, "I see no cause for alarm."

Looking back to the stoic figure of Xaos, Kohain complied, saying a brief "Very well," before beginning a short incantation. Raising his staff in the air, the trio of himself, Xaos, and Redd were in an instant taken from the dark forest path, subsequently finding themselves at the gate of Xaos's dark manor. For a moment Fallen Redd was confused at this sudden change, but soon realized that it was in a familiar place. The three proceeded forwards through the massive castle gate and climbed winding flights of stairs to Xaos's throne room, the center of his empire. As they entered Xaos continued, "Yet, you are right about this one's particular characteristics. Perhaps we could see how it acts after it rests. Put it to sleep."

Kohain was taken aback by Xaos's suggestion. By his wording Kohain thought for a moment that Xaos wanted the unusually wild Fallen to be killed, but after a moment of contemplation he somewhat understood. "But, master," Kohain responded, "the Fallen require no rest. They draw their strength from the sword's sorcery."

Xaos took his seat on his throne and spoke to his henchman, "Perhaps you misunderstood, Kohain." The Dark Lord leaned forward, projecting his full might onto the sorcerer. "Make it sleep."

"Y-yes, my liege," was Kohain's very quick response. Turning back about Kohain grimaced as he looked to the strange Fallen standing in the middle of the room, and with some incantation and a wave of his staff, Redd slowly slumped over and laid on the floor of the throne room, breathing slowly.

"What news of the Resistance?" inquired Xaos.

"Our sources report no major activity among the Resistance. We suspect that they may be at a loss due to the recent… departure of the Avriem." A sickening smile spread across Kohain's face. "Perhaps they mourn."

"It would not surprise me. The members of the Resistance have always been ones for over-sentimentality. But for now as long as they do not interfere I can concentrate on more important matters."

"Yes, master. I'm sure you've noticed the increasing power of the rogue element."

"Indeed. While she was naïve before, if she begins to learn too much we may not be able to manipulate her further."

"Quite," Kohain looked back to the sleeping Fallen and noted his own present fatigue. "If I may, I would return to my study, master."

"Do as you wish," the Dark Lord replied. With a small bow Kohain exited the way he came in, and as the throne room's doors shut Xaos took a moment to study Fallen Redd's sleeping form. "In many ways you continue to defy me, Elise Redd. But, for now those concerns have been… put to bed."

…

The world around her was black. At first all she could feel was a sense of weightlessness, but slowly she came to recognize her arms, legs, fingers, toes, even the tips of each strand of hair that touched her face. For now all she could do is feel because she couldn't move. For a long moment she attempted to command her body to act, to do even the slightest thing, but to no avail. 'Damn,' she thought, and much to her surprise her thought rang out around her, echoing in the unknown depths of nothingness. 'What is this?' she contemplated, her words again reverberating around her. 'Am I… dead?'

From out of nowhere she suddenly heard a voice not belonging to herself. "Well now," it said, the voice sounding aged and weary, "it certainly has been a long time since something like this happened." Suddenly new sensations assaulted her. There was something underneath her, and for some reason that weightlessness was gone, replaced by a strange, yet familiar force pulling her down towards whatever was lying beneath her. As she opened her eyes she could… yes, she could see something near her. A form, human-like, wearing a faded gray hood and cloak, three-fingered hands resting on its knees. Surprised at her own movements, she sat up and backed away a little. "K-Kalimundi!" she said, at once finding her voice.

"Yes," it replied.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I believe you should first pose that question to yourself," the Kalimundi said.

"What?" she spat out as she stood. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard! Why should I ask myself who I am?" With much gusto she stood in a firm pose, one thumb perched at the top of her breastbone. "I'm Elise Redd, geezer."

"Are you sure?" the aged Kalimundi posed.

"Huh?" Elise responded, laughing a little. "Of course I'm sure."

"Now, now, young lady," the Kalimundi said, "it isn't wise to jump to conclusions."

Elise stood puzzled for a moment, wanting to hit this weird old Kalimundi upside the head for talking to her in riddles, but suddenly he raised a hand and pointed off into the distance somewhere behind Elise. She turned to look for whatever he was pointing at, and a short way's off she recognized something tall and flat. It was a full-length mirror, oval in shape, its reflective side pointing in another direction. Looking back to the Kalimundi for a moment, Elise took cautious steps towards the mirror. 'What's this nagging feeling?' she thought. 'Why should I be worried?'

Elise stepped towards the mirror, approaching it still from its wooden backing. Once beside it she tried to fight off that lingering fear she didn't quite understand and resolutely turned to face her reflection. However, she couldn't find her reflection in the mirror's face. Instead a strange red creature with clawed hands, a devilish tail, and threatening black eyes, was moving strangely in time to all her motions. "What? What is this?" she shouted. No response came from the Kalimundi. She began to realize what this meant and horror filled her heart. "I can't- No! No!" Elise Red screamed as she gripped the sides of the mirror, her thoughts reverberating through the nothingness.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"I thank the spirits that you arrived safely."

"And I thank you for your hospitality. What did you want to talk about?"

"It's my son. You see, recently a number of the villagers here came down with a strange illness unknown to us. After some consultation between the elders and myself we decided to seek outside help. It turns out that Coranda faced a similar situation and was able to create a curative salve for the disease from various plants that grow in their region. However, none of those particular plants grow in this area, so we needed to send someone to retrieve a supply of the salve."

"And your son volunteered?"

"Yes. He felt it was his responsibility as the son of the clan matron, and we let him go. But, it has taken him far longer to return than anyone expected, and with a matter as urgent as this we thought he would hurry back. My son can be a bit reckless, and so I fear something has happened to him along the way. He may have become lost in the forest or…" A pair of hands reached out in a comforting grip on the matron's right hand, their soft fur adding to their warmth.

"It's all right," said General Tigerclaw, leader of the Soldiers of Resistance. "We'll do everything we can to find your son, matron."

"Thank you," she replied.

Tigerclaw stood and looked over the features of the matron more closely than she did when she had first entered the dark hut. Although she was advanced in years Tigerclaw had expected her to rise in greeting, as was the custom in this village. However, she had remained in her bed for the entirety of this short meeting, taking more effort than usual to sit herself up when she spoke. After her explanation it was clear to Tigerclaw that the matron had herself contracted the illness. The village was dying, and it was her responsibility to set things right. "Theodore?"

"Yes, General?" said the young wizard.

"You know some healing spells don't you?"

"Yes, I do."

"T-that isn't necessary, Tigerclaw," the matron interrupted.

"Please, ma'am. We came here to help, and we'll do it in any way possible. See to the matron, Ted. I'll be outside."

"Right. I'll do my best!"

Tigerclaw turned and exited the matron's large, round hut, ducking under the thick mat hanging at its entrance. Taking a deep breath of the fresh air outside she then set out to find the other Resistance members. Strolling through the village she could see subtle signs of the sickness that was spreading throughout the village. More than anything it was a look of fatigue on most of the faces she saw. The villagers were beginning to lose hope, and if she and the other Resistance members didn't do something soon they would lose more than that. Hearing a familiar voice Tigerclaw walked towards an open area, and there she saw three of the four members she was seeking. Like her they had augmented their traditional clothing and battle gear with pieces more suited to simple travelers. They were gathered about an open fire where various wild game was cooking on a spit.

"And then what happened?" eagerly asked the pirate DeFrain.

"Wawk wawk wawk… wawk," answered his penguin companion, Blackbeak, after which DeFrain burst into a fit of laughter. A few villagers passing by merely shrugged at each other. Beside them the warrior Ehud grumbled a bit under his breath.

"What's the matter, Ehud?" asked DeFrain. "You don't appreciate Blackbeak's style of humor?"

"No," Ehud replied, "it's just that, well, aren't we trying to keep a low profile?"

"I could say the same thing about you," DeFrain posed to the very tall soldier.

"Wawk!" seconded Blackbeak.

"Don't even get me started about you," Ehud retaliated, pointing to the penguin.

DeFrain chuckled a little, then noticed Tigerclaw walking up to the group. "Ah, General. How did things go?"

"Apparently the matron's son has gone missing," she reported. "We need to find him."

"Oh?" replied DeFrain, sounding a little disappointed. "I was hoping for something more epic."

"It may not be epic, but it is important," reprimanded Tigerclaw. "I'm sure you've noticed the… situation here." For a moment the group hung in awkward silence.

"Yes," said DeFrain. "It's terrible."

"Well, the matron's son may have been returning with medicine before he went missing."

"Let's hope he did," added Ehud.

"The matron said that he went to Coranda for the salve. Coranda is to the northwest, so…" Tigerclaw trailed off as she took in their surroundings. "Mm hmm. He'd probably try and navigate that forest if he was in a hurry."

"Something seems familiar about that place," Ehud noted.

"Wawk," seconded Blackbeack.

"It should," explained DeFrain. "Keep going north from here and you head straight into territory controlled by Xaos. In fact, his castle is just over those hills."

"Xaos…" Ehud cursed under his breath.

"But," DeFrain said, his voice in a notably lighter tone, "before we head out, you should partake some of this food, General. Quite the spread for just 'simple travelers' passing through, huh?"

"Actually," Tigerclaw said, taking a seat, "the matron and I have known each-other for quite a while."

"Oh?" said Ehud. "So you've been here to Ravanda before?"

"Yes," she replied. "It was back before I became a 'General.' I was here when Xaos's troops began to spread out in this direction. Everyone here fought bravely to protect their homeland, myself included, but we ended up having to retreat. The waiting was unbearable, but finally we moved against the enemy troops in the area, and were able to reoccupy this village. It was strange, but we encountered relatively little resistance."

"It must have been after Tanzor," Ehud said. "I've heard a handful of other stories like this one about certain groups fighting back on the outskirts of Xaos's territory. But this village is so close to the heart of Xaos's empire."

"Well," Tigerclaw continued, "we can't know what reason Xaos had for not fighting back, but it did a lot for the morale of the Ravandans. Now this… We've got to help these people. Once Theodore finishes up we should head out. Oh, and where's Skythropos?"

"Waiting at the outskirts of the village. Wouldn't come in for some reason," Ehud explained.

"Actually," DeFrain said, "I heard that this area was also once part of the Kalimundi Empire."

"That explains it," Tigerclaw sighed. "The Ravandans are a proud people, but they can also be ones to hold a grudge. So," she said, turning to face DeFrain, "don't do anything here you might regret later on."

"You have my word as a man of the sea," DeFrain said, holding up his right palm.

"We're not at sea," Ehud interjected.

"Exactly," DeFrain replied with a grin. "Hey, Blackbeack. Tell the General about the time-"

"Wawk, wawk…"

…

Elise fell to her knees as suddenly the memories come flooding back. The desert; her fight with Yukiyo; being confronted by Mellek Xaos. It was as if she re-lived those moments in one horrifying instant. And the turning; she remembered that as well. The pain from the actual wound of Xaos's sword stabbing deep into her, and then the unbearable sensation as her body transformed felt as if her very essence was slowly being choked off inside her, until there was nothing but darkness. 'But,' she thought, 'if that was me there, why am I here now?'

"Hey, you," she called out to the aged Kalimundi, wiping a stray tear from her face, "just what is this place? Where are we?"

"It is neither here, nor there, but at the same time very close," he replied.

"Just like Skythropos," Elise said between clenched teeth. "Why can't you damn Kalimundi ever stop talking in riddles?"

The Kalimundi paused for a moment. "That is right. You are not fond of the Kalimundi."

"And what makes you think you know so much about me, huh?" she shouted as she stood up. "You been watching me in your damn mirror?"

"No," he replied. "I suppose I should explain. Come here."

Elise reluctantly walked towards the old Kalimundi. She hadn't quite noticed it before, but he was in a sitting position. Sitting on… apparently nothing. As Elise neared him she took a moment to ponder this. Slowly and reluctantly she began to sit down beside him, but suddenly found nothing supporting her weight. She fell with a thud to the ground, and as she rolled her eyes she said, "Go on…"

"Do you know what a Fallen is?" the old Kalimundi asked.

"Of course I do," Elise darkly replied. "I'm one of them. It's someone who's been injured by Xaos's Sword of Shadows."

"That is true, but not the whole truth."

"Again with the riddles…"

"You also know of the time in which the Kalimundi sought to gain control of the lands under a vast empire?"

"When you thought you had Xaos as your lapdog. Yeah, so?"

"The Triumvirate knew their plan to be ambitious beyond bounds, and also knew that, after their plans were completed, fear would not be enough to keep the conquered peoples under their control. They wanted total control. To address this issue certain Kalimundi scholars were presented with the task of finding a way subvert the mind of sentient creatures. One such scholar delved into ancient magical texts containing records of experiments in the dark arts; experiments that should have never again seen the light of day. Unfortunately, he accomplished his goal. He found a book that detailed a spell for completely subverting the will of a living creature and bending it to the caster's will. After he successfully tested the spell on some lower life forms he read further into the dark study and found a second spell. This one, rather than subdue the consciousness of a creature… how can I describe it? Examined. Yes, it examined the mind of a sentient being and searched for the darkest part of its psyche. Once found, it amplified this dark nature and gave it a physical form. The scholar was astounded as this spell also proved effective, though he could find little practical use for it. He was about to present his findings to the Triumvirate, but…"

"By that time the Triumvirate was already dead, right?" completed Elise.

"Yes," the old Kalimundi replied. "Xaos's rampage through the capitol eventually took him to the study of that very scholar. He was powerless to stop Xaos as he poured over his research, which only added to Xaos's rage as he assumed the spells were meant for him; to make him even more the Triumvirate's puppet. But, one thing that scholar couldn't have expected was the fact that Xaos's knowledge of magic was so intricate that he, seemingly on a whim, combined the two spells into one fearsome ability. This allowed him to create, with a single swing of his sword, a fearsome soldier without remorse, without reason, and loyal to him alone."

"You were that scholar, weren't you?" asked Elise.

"Yes," he replied.

"But that was more than a millennium ago. I didn't think that even Kalimundi could live that long," Elise posed.

"No, they don't," he answered.

"Then how is it that you're here? How is it that I'm here? I still don't get all this," Elise said, a hint of defeat in her voice.

"When Xaos combined the two spells into one," continued the old Kalimundi, "he of course needed to test its effectiveness. He decided to test it… on myself. I was unable to stop him physically, but as the spells' dark power washed over me I did something he did not expect. During my other studies I had found an ancient method of combining one's total physical and mental energy and… attaching it to a spell. So, before I had fully fallen under Xaos's sway, I attached my being to the combined spell."

"Then, you're…" Elise began.

"Yes," he said. "I am but an echo of my former self, using what little energy I have left to appear here before you, and create this place. Although by attaching myself to Xaos's spell I have glimpsed into the minds of many other beings, I find that after all this time I am unsure of the deeper details of who I am, even my name now escapes me."

"Does that mean that I'm…"

"No. Our situations are dissimilar."

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Elise asked.

"Unlike you, I have no body to return to," the old Kalumundi explained.

"Return?" Elise asked eagerly.

"Yes. There is a way for you to return to the physical plane and your body."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Elise shouted, standing and leaning in towards the form of the old Kalimundi. "Get me out of here! I want to go back!"

"It is not that simple," he said.

"What?"

"Are you not afraid of what you have become?"

"That thing?" Elise said contemptuously. "That's not me; just some twisted creature Xaos made me into."

"But I just explained to you," the old Kalimundi said, his voice rising, "the second spell takes the darkest part of a person's conscious, their very soul, and manifests it. Were you not afraid that inside you lurked a creature so vile? A mere thing that would strike down the innocent for the mere pleasure of the act? An animal that would dare to kill old friends in cold blood? Yes!" he said as for the first time he stood, his voice booming. "You, Elise Redd! That thing is as much a part of you as you are a part of it!"

Elise couldn't believe what she was hearing. It wasn't true, was it? Her anger; her frustration; could it be possible for those vices to run that deep? She knew that, compared to the other members of the Resistance, she was impatient and confrontational. But, it wasn't enough to create something as horrible as the old Kalimundi was describing, was it? She tried to find some reason that would allow her to fight back against the Kalimundi's argument, but as she searched her thoughts something else appeared. A memory not familiar to her suddenly entered her mind. It was the face of Avriem Xiliarkos, contorted in pain, blood spattered across his features, someone laughing behind her. And now, she understood. "You're right," she said, falling to her knees for a second time. "Damn it, you're right!" Elise fell forward as her fists pounded the ground, and for the first time in a very long while, Elise Redd wept.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Tigerclaw sighed deeply as she closed the eyes of the matron's son for the last time. She stood up to once again survey the gruesome scene, and asked herself if this really would turn out all right. "This does not bode well," she said to the group. "Let's split up to look for any signs of what may have caused this."

After getting affirmatives from the rest of the group, Tigerclaw turned to see Skythropos approaching the body. "If I may, General?" the red-cloaked Kalimundi asked.

"Yes, of course," came Tigerclaw's reply, and she stepped away as Skythropos's movements became more pronounced. Usually it seemed as if he was floating just above the ground, but now Tigerclaw could tell he was carefully studying the body as he walked towards it. Skythropos knelt by the young man's head and reached out his three-fingered hands to rest on the dead man's forehead.

"I sense…" he began, "a great deal of fear lingering in the traces of this one's mind; panic and confusion. His concern lies with his very life, but also… worry over… homeland… a parcel…"

"That's enough, Skythropos," Tigerclaw interrupted. "Thank you."

Skythropos removed his hands from the dead man, and stood back up. The careful observer would note that he seemed to look off into the distance for a moment. "From what I could gather I believe this man was returning to the village before his death, carrying with him something of importance."

"Truly?" Tigerclaw exclaimed. "That's the first good news we've had all day. DeFrain! Blackbeak!" she called out to the two seafarers. "Search along and around this path. See if you can find any stray parcels or bags!"

"Wawk!" came Blackbeak's affirmative.

"We're on it," said DeFrain while lifting his eye-patch to reveal his left eye, its strange coloring denoting its magical properties.

'This is good,' Tigerclaw said to herself, 'If we can at least find the salve then his sacrifice wasn't in vain.' She again looked to the body of the matron's son, studying it. Even though it was true that they were close to Xaos's territory, the mere fact that the young man lie here dead puzzled her. "Ehud," she called to the warrior just a short way's off, "what do you make of it?"

Ehud perked up at Tigerclaw's call and turned to walk back towards her. "It's pretty strange. I don't really know what could have done this. It doesn't strike me that Xaos himself would come out this far just to kill this one boy. And if he was responsible you'd think that he wouldn't just kill the guy, but also-"

"Ehud," Theodore interrupted from a short way's off.

Ehud paused momentarily, then realized what he was getting at. He could also see a change in Tigerclaw's expression. "Oh! Sorry, General."

"It's all right," Tigerclaw said, her voice somewhat subdued. "Continue."

"Well, like I was saying-uh," Ehud's voice cut off suddenly as he felt his foot run into something. "What the devil?" he said as he glanced towards the ground. There, stuck under the lip of his boot was a good-sized root extending towards the middle of the path. "Huh…" Ehud said, the syllable drawn out in contemplation. "Check for injuries around his feet," he called out to Theodore. Ted quickly complied and, sure enough, something odd showed up.

"His left ankle does look swollen," he called back to Ehud.

Within a few quick paces Ehud was back by Tigerclaw and Theodore, examining the ankle for himself. "Yeah," he said. "He definitely tripped over that root right before whatever happened to him… happened."

"He was being chased," Tigerclaw surmised. "Maybe by some sort of wild animal?"

"That might be it," Ehud said. "That gash at his neck doesn't look like a sword wound."

"However," Skythropos interjected, "Xaos's dark aura is enough to frighten off most wild creatures in his vicinity. Not a bird has sang since we entered this forest. And what animal would kill this young man, then simply leave him here?"

"A valid point," said Tigerclaw, "I think we can rule out the wild animal theory."

"Then what could have done it?" asked Ehud, exacerbated. "If nothing's out here, then what killed him?"

Before Tigerclaw had time to think of a response she noticed a commotion up ahead on the path. Suddenly, Blackbeak burst out a patch of underbrush, triumphantly holding a satchel over his head. As he walked back to the path he called back to the others, "Wawk wawk!" the second "wawk" drawn out in what could have only been the penguin equivalent of "Tada!"

"Hey!" DeFrain's voice called from another direction, "Careful with that, you swab!" he shouted, pointing at the hook grafted onto one of Blackbeak's wingtips. "Don't rip that bag!"

"Wawk," Blackbeak replied, completely confident in his ability to do just that.

"Excellent work, Blackbeak," Tigerclaw exclaimed as she and the others ran towards the penguin. Blackbeak handed her the bag, and she could see that inside were a number of glass vials with cork stoppers, each filled with a white liquid. "This must be it. Quickly Blackbeak, get this back to the village as fast as you can."

"Wawk!" he said with a salute before he took the satchel back from Tigerclaw. He paused, though, and looked back to the body of the matron's son. "Wawk?"

"No, don't mention it for now. I'll tell her myself." Tigerclaw replied.

"Wawk, wawk wawk wawk wawk wawk?" he asked desperately.

"I don't know…" Tigerclaw said. "Just… make something up. Hurry!"

"Wawk!" With that Blackbeak dashed off the way the group had come with surprising speed for a penguin.

"What a trooper," DeFrain said as he watched Blackbeak run into the distance. "Why'd you send only him?" he queried Tigerclaw.

"Because we may not be going back just yet," the General replied. "I need to figure this out," she explained.

"It's a mystery to me," Ehud added.

"The only lead that we have right now is Xaos, right?" Theodore said.

"Xaos…" Tigerclaw pondered, her chin resting on her thumb. "Xaos… Of course! Why didn't I think of it before?"

"What is it?" asked Ehud.

"Xaos didn't put up much resistance when the Ravandans took back their village. Perhaps he's simply been biding his time; waiting for something like this to happen. In their current state, the Ravandans aren't in any shape to put up a fight, and if he knows this then… he may be preparing to strike their village once more! It's a risky move, but we need to investigate Xaos's castle to see if that is what he's up to, so we can warn them before it's too late."

"When hasn't a plan of ours been risky, General?" DeFrain asked, looking eager.

"Point taken," Tigerclaw said. "Come on, everyone! Let's go!"

…

The tears would not stop. The sorrow would not cease. The guilt would not fade. Crying was the last thing Elise Redd wanted to do, but it was the only thing she could do right now. She had seen the horrible things she had done since being turned into a Fallen. A horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that the horrendous acts would not cease. Even after now her body would still be under Xaos's control, and he would have her ravage and murder according to his twisted plans. 'No,' she quietly told herself, 'he'll let me murder.' Beside her the old Kalimundi stood still, seemingly watching over her, but there was no comfort to be found in the shadows inside that dark hood. After a time, he stirred slightly, and returned to the sitting position that he had been in before. "I apologize if my tone was accusing," he said, his voice once again its original timbre.

"Apology accepted," Elise said angrily through short breaths. "You know, you've really shown me the light, old man. You know what?" she said, sitting up. "I think maybe I won't go back. Maybe I'll just stay here. You could magic me up some more furniture… maybe a lamp. We can have plenty of long, boring conversations until eternity. How does that sound?"

"I apologize, Elise Redd," the old Kalimundi continued. "But, if you had not come to that realization there would be no point in returning you to the physical plane."

"What point is there now?" Elise shouted. "I don't want to go back to just be Xaos's slave!"

"The answer lies not with Xaos, rather with yourself," the old Kalimundi replied.

"Damn it! Just talk to me straight, would you?" sobbed Elise.

"You would do well, Elise Redd," advised the old Kalimundi, "to calm yourself and really listen to what I am saying."

"Fine," Elise said with a sniff. "How does the answer to all of this lie in me?"

"As I explained," he began, "Xaos's technique of creating the Fallen derives from his combining two different spells. However, by that very nature, the properties of each individual spell are weakened. That is how you, your consciousness, is able to sustain itself here, because your will has not been completely subverted. In a similar fashion, if you were to return to your physical body you would be in control, because the creature that has taken your place is still, at its core, you."

"You don't have to remind me," Elise growled.

"Yes, I do," the old Kalimundi countered.

"Why? To remind me of how I need to get rid of all that?"

"No," he answered. "The answer does not lie in taking away something. Taking away is Xaos's method. The Fallen are created by taking away the good in a person. Doing the opposite would still only manage to create something less than human."

"So then…" Elise mused. "The answer lies in combining the good with the bad."

"Yes," the old Kalimundi replied. "You have taken your first crucial step into a greater understanding of yourself."

"Do I get a prize?" Elise asked sarcastically.

"The prize waiting for you at the end of this ordeal is your body and your life," he answered.

"That's good enough for me," Elise replied. "So, how do I 'achieve balance' and whatnot?"

"That is something you must learn on your own, Elise Redd."

"How? I can't do it in here. This isn't living."

"Very astute, Elise," said the old Kalimundi. "To accomplish that, you must first return to your body."

"And just how do I do that?" asked Elise.

"You must… break into what you see as yourself," he surmised.

"Break into what?" Elise was about to give the old Kalimundi another earful, but as she glanced around she again noticed the only structure present in this place. "Ah…" she said, the pieces falling into place. "The mirror. That's pretty clever wording, old man. So, I just gotta do something with this mirror," she began as she stepped towards it.

"Wait," called the old Kalimundi.

"What?" she sighed impatiently.

"Have you any doubt?"

"Doubt?" Elise repeated. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"If there is doubt in your heart, one more ordeal faces you before you can return to your body," he explained. "You must face it yourself. I cannot help you."

'What is he talking about?' Elise asked herself. Not wanting to waste time by being trapped in the old Kalimundi's speeches, Elise continued to the mirror the same way she had done before. She steadied herself, ready to face that monstrous reflection once more. But, as she turned to face the glass, something unexpected happened. This time there was no image in the mirror's face at all. Very confused, she gazed back at the old Kalimundi. "Hey," she said, about to ask him what this meant. However, before another word escaped her lips she impulsively inhaled as she felt a sharp pain in her left arm. Slowly turning her head to look downwards she could see a long knife had plunged into the flesh of her arm near her shoulder. Her sight traced up the knife to a hand clenched in a fist. The knife disappeared as it went under the long black sleeve of a trenchcoat, from which the fist was also emerging. She looked up past the coat's collar to a face that was decidedly not her own. "Well, well, well. How long has it been, Elise Redd?" it's owner asked, emerging from the mirror's face.

"Yukiyo!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Slowly, the Ravandan matron found herself once again awake, although she thought it strange. From the look of the inside of her hut she could tell that the sun had not yet risen. It was indeed very early, but in her weakened state what would have caused her to rise now? Then she heard voices outside. They were faint, but she could tell that there was a sense of urgency in their tone. Letting out a sickly cough, the Ravandan matron lifted herself up, puzzled as to the strange commotion. After a short while the voices died down, but suddenly a young man burst into her hut. He fell to his knees in respect and spoke to her in a hurried tone. "Matron! Pardon me for waking you, and for my intrusion, matron," he said, "but, you see… there's a penguin here to see you."

"Hmm?"

…

Disappointed, DeFrain somewhat crawled, somewhat slid backwards down the small hill to where the other Resistance members were waiting. The others looked at DeFrain with a plaintive, hoping stare, waiting for his results. Flipping his eye-patch back into place the pirate let out a sigh and shook his head, after which the group's silence was more poignant and contemplative.

"I just don't get it," DeFrain sighed. "No matter where I look there's just a normal guard complement. Nothing like an invasion force or advance platoon anywhere in there."

Tigerclaw stiffened, disturbed by this strange turn of events. She had been so sure that the matron's son had been killed to further some sort of invasion scheme plotted by Xaos. It was the only logical explanation she could find for it. But the search by DeFrain hadn't shown any sort of sign towards that end. Could she have been wrong about this whole thing? Would Xaos really not take advantage of this situation? Or was he already one step ahead of them? "Ehud," she asked the warrior, "do you think Xaos could be using somewhere else to build up a force against the Ravandans?"

"He might," Ehud mused doubtfully, "but the only major centers close to Ravanda that he controls are across the Lurian Mountains. This would be a natural staging area if he wanted to quickly send an army into the village."

"Damn it!" she cursed. "Nothing adds up."

"Maybe… we should head back to the village for now," Ted suggested, a look of worry on his face. "Get some sleep to clear our heads and help us think through this."

"No," Tigerclaw said, a harsh edge in her voice. "Not while the village is in danger."

"Young Theodore's logic is valid," Skythropos interjected. "Because we accomplished the retrieval of the salve needed to cure the illness afflicting the village, one should think that the village is safer than when we left it, and if we are needed to help defend the village, we would do well to go back to it now. This commotion has caused us all stress. And you, General; I find your composure to be most agitated, as it has been ever since we arrived at Ravanda."

Tigerclaw almost glared at Skythropos for his invasive comment, but realized that such anger was futile. She let the notion go and sighed to herself, thinking of how a General should conduct herself in front of her soldiers. Even though it was a personal blow to see her theories not pan out, it wasn't right to take it out on the others. "You're right, Skythropos, Ted," she said, somewhat defeated. "I'm sorry. This may all turn out to be a wild goose chase."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, General," Ted sincerely advised. "We follow your orders because we trust in your decisions. It was our duty to help the Ravandans. That's why we're here."

"Thank you, Ted," Tigerclaw said. She closed her eyes for a moment, consumed in thought. "All right. DeFrain, I want you to search Xaos's castle one more time. If nothing shows up, we head back to the village."

"By your leave," DeFrain answered somewhat indecisively. "But, I've been about as thorough as I can safely be."

"Safely?" Tigerclaw repeated.

"Well," the mariner began, "I've used my eye around Xaos plenty of times before. If I look around too close to Xaos or the pointy minion they might be able to pick up on it, and if that happens we're going to lose this little game of hide-and-seek."

"DeFrain, I want to be as sure as I can possibly be," the General made clear.

DeFrain took a moment to look at Tigerclaw, and then after a quick glance at the rest of the group he smirked a bit and gave Tigerclaw a very sincere "Aye aye." The pirate once again rolled onto his belly and slowly made his way up to his perch near the top of the embankment. Revealing his all-seeing eye, he stared deep into the foreboding castle, going over the areas he had already searched the first time. As he expected this was to no avail, as all he saw were the same Fallen guards making their patrols of the castle's interior. His piercing gaze shifted upwards, and DeFrain steeled himself for what might come as he neared where Xaos's throne room had been mapped-out to be. Despite this, he almost jumped when he came across an unexpected figure lounging on the floor of the throne room. It was a Fallen; an oddly familiar Fallen. Staring intently, DeFrain gradually recognized its features and coloring, and as he shook his head in disbelief all he could say was, "Well… blow me down…"

…

The dark features of his throne room slowly took shape around him as Mellek Xaos silently pondered what had brought him out of his meditative trance. The Dark Lord made it a point to keep himself prepared for anything at any time, and so it was a rare event when he actually slept. Taking a quick look about he did not see Kohain anywhere, nor one of the castle guards. The only other thing present in the room was the silent, sleeping Fallen Redd, who should not have done anything to trigger his awakening. Dismissing that train of thought he tapped into the etheric energies of the castle, searching for anything out of place, but again found nothing that wasn't ordinary. The fact that he couldn't find anything was at the same time both reassuring and threatening. Considering his options, he decided to summon his minion and called out to him across minds. 'Kohain, come.'

Moments later a somewhat ruffled and very tired Kohain Ravime appeared in the throne room, and bowed to his master. As his body bent to its lowest point Kohain began to yawn, which he quickly and awkwardly stifled with mock coughing. "My lord," he addressed Xaos, "what requires my attention?"

"Put the castle guard on alert," Xaos commanded.

"A-Are we in danger, my lord?" Kohain nervously inquired.

"Most likely not," the Dark Lord answered. "Yet, something brought me out of my trance prematurely."

"Quite unsettling," Kohain commented. "I shall do as you command." As Kohain turned to leave he noticed Fallen Redd on the other side of the room. "Shall I wake this one?" he asked.

"I see no need to interrupt our experiment because of what may be merely a passing notion," the Dark Lord said. "In the mean time I will continue to study the energies of the twin pearls."

"Very good, my lord," Kohain said as he promptly departed.

Xaos concentrated momentarily, creating subtle openings in space and time, accessing each pearl's pocket dimension. He allowed the subtle vibrations of the Pearls of De'Kashra and Da'Cothra to flow towards him, and he felt each wave of energy as it passed through him. 'Soon,' he thought, 'I will find my answers.'

…

"I'm telling you, she's there," DeFrain said, his voice straining to remain low while at the same time helping him emphasize his point.

"Okay, okay, we believe you," Ehud replied, "but even so what's the point of sticking around?"

"Because now's the perfect chance to get her out of there," DeFrain answered.

"Get her out?" Ehud repeated in disbelief. "I don't know if you've forgotten, but Elise is a Fallen now. I doubt she'd kindly go with us even if we did rescue her."

"That's the thing," DeFrain rebutted. "Have you ever known a Fallen to sleep on the job?"

"What do you mean?" Ehud asked, his face lined with confusion. "The Fallen are supposed to be tireless."

"They are," DeFrain confirmed, "but Elise was asleep."

"The only possible explanation to that scenario," Skythropos concluded, "is sorcery."

"Right!" DeFrain said. "So, if she's under some kind of spell, it means she won't wake up under normal circumstances. Thankfully that makes her much less of a threat to us."

"Yet," Skythropos added, "when she does awake, she will undoubtedly still be our enemy. We have no way of undoing what Xaos has done to Lieutenant Redd."

"Even so," Ted interjected, "it would be better to have Elise under our care when we do find a way."

"If we find a way," Ehud said.

"Don't say that, Ehud!" Ted protested.

"Why shouldn't I?" Ehud countered. "You and pirate boy need to wake up from your little fantasy. You're going to risk your lives to break into Xaos's castle, go up against all his defenses and maybe even the man himself, all to try and rescue something that you don't even know will be friend or foe when it wakes up?"

"When _she_ wakes up," Ted corrected.

"Right," Ehud spat out.

"I'd like to know something, Ehud," DeFrain said, a dour expression on his face. "When did you get to be so heartless?"

"You take that back you" Ehud growled, nearly rising.

"Ehud. DeFrain." Skythropos raised his hands towards the two men. "This is neither the time nor the place for such confrontation."

"Oh, there won't be a confrontation," Ehud assured, his eyes glaring with intensity. "I just want this sea dog to know that, despite what he may think, I miss Redd just as much as any of you, maybe more. But, I miss Elise; not what she's become. You say we can save her, but we don't deserve the luxury; not after what we've all done." The group went silent as Ehud's point rang home. None of them could think of anything more to say. What else could be said? They had all dealt with Fallen on the battlefields at one point or another, and had learned to treat them as enemies and nothing more. And now Ehud's statements had brought this contradiction in terms to light. If they wanted to save a Fallen now, why hadn't they felt the same way towards the others they had cut down? After a very long moment, DeFrain spoke up.

"Sorry, friend," he said. He then looked away from the group. "Well, by my reckoning we have two for and two against. It's your call, General."

Tigerclaw was sitting a short distance away from the rest of the group, absorbed in thought. Her fingers were splayed across her scalp, her thumbs at her temples, with her elbows resting on her knees. Ever since DeFrain had returned and informed the other Resistance members of his findings she had remained in that position. It was as if she was analyzing the others' conversation line by line to try and form some sort of decision. There was a deep turmoil in her heart, and she was fighting hard to not show it. The others looked to her as she contemplated until she finally stood and addressed them, conveying every last shred of strength and will in her body.

"The Fallen are tools of Xaos. He uses them as a weapon of intimidation, a way to frighten us. Turning our friends, our comrades, and innocents into mere animals that do his bidding. And what does he have them do? Murder our friends, our comrades, and the innocent. We ourselves have been caught up in this vicious cycle: forced to fight against those who were once our allies and strike them down with our own hands. If we are ever to win against Mellek Xaos we need to find a way to reverse his awful ability of changing people into the Fallen. We need to try. We also need all the help we can gather to defeat Xaos himself once the time comes. In both cases, there is one person that we cannot do without. We need Elise Redd, and I'm willing to take any and all risks to get her back. As for you, DeFrain, Ehud, Skythropos, and Theodore, I want your full support in this mission, as I'll need all your strength to pull it off. Do I have your word?"

"Of course!" Ted answered.

"Yes," said Skythropos.

"Always," DeFrain replied.

"On my honor," Ehud confirmed.

"Very well," Tigerclaw said. "We'll make our move at dawn."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Yukiyo slowly stepped out of the mirror, forcing Elise to gingerly back up as well to avoid getting her shoulder punctured further. Elise could hear the bounty hunter laugh while taking an inordinate amount of pleasure from toying with her. From what Elise could tell, looks-wise, Yukiyo was the same as ever, however she found her laugh to be utterly strange. Emotion was the last thing she expected from Yukiyo. She and her alter-ego Yukio were mercenaries and spies who carried out their jobs with cool efficiency, but this sick chuckle led Elise to believe that this Yukiyo was something different altogether. Once her form had completely exited the glass Yukiyo almost took another step forward, and while Elise began to move backward in tandem the bounty hunter suddenly pulled her arm back and tore her long knife from Elise's flesh. Elise yelled in pain, clutching her wound, while Yukiyo began to cackle maniacally. "You've got a lot of nerve," Elise growled.

"Oh," Yukiyo replied, her laugh slowly fading, "and you don't, Redd?"

"Huh?" was all Elise could say to that.

"Did you think you could get back to your body so easily, Redd?" Yukiyo asked. "Did you really think it would all be over after just sitting around spouting philosophy with some stiff scholar? Ha! If you would be so kind to remember," she continued, her voice growing dark, "we have some unfinished business. That," she said while pointing with her bloodied knife to Elise's wound, "is where we left off."

"How nice of you to not give me an unfair advantage," Elise sarcastically spat. "How the hell did you get here anyway?"

"Me? I've been here the whole time. Right under your nose as usual," Yukiyo said, smirking.

"Why would _you_ be in my mind?" Elise asked fervently.

"Oh! I'm hurt, Elise," Yukiyo said, melodramatically. "Why wouldn't I be here? After all, we're the same," she said, walking off in a seemingly random direction, away from Elise. Elise watched her go, and suddenly there seemed to be a subtle change in her gait that Elise didn't quite understand.

"Like hell we're the same!" Elise shouted after her. "I'm nothing like you!"

"I beg to differ. We are very much alike," said Yukio, turning back to face Elise, the same cruel intent as Yukiyo's showing behind his round spectacles. She was startled by his sudden transformation, as Yukio hadn't even reached to his pendant beforehand. As she was pondering this her gaze shifted, and for the first time since Yukio had shown up she took in her surroundings, which had undergone a stark transformation. Beforehand, Elise was only able to tell where she was in relation to either the old Kalimundi or the mirror, but now the area had gained a new level of detail. Elise could see that the area she and Yukio occupied was wide and circular. Underneath her, the floor had adopted two colors, red and white. The floor was separated into curved sections of these two colors, forming into the same pattern of Ying and Yang that was on the pendant Yukio always wore around his neck, with the mirror standing at the pattern's center. Light seemed to emanate from the floor's surface in a much more ominous tone than what had previously been the case. Tracing an invisible line from herself to Yukio, she could see that while she was standing on a portion of the floor that was red, Yukio had stepped onto the main white area. Meanwhile, the old Kalimundi was nowhere to be seen.

"However," Yukio continued, "there is one distinct difference between us. While I have no real obligation to Xaos, he's got _you_ around his little finger!" Yukio unsheathed his left blade on the emphasis of his last sentence, and instinctively Elise reached her bloody hand back towards where her collapsible staff was kept in a belt-loop at the back of her pants. But, all she could find was empty space where the staff should have been. Noticing this Yukio chuckled and began to stalk towards her saying, "I told you…" Suddenly he leaped at Elise with his daggers at the ready. "…It's not that easy!" Yukiyo concluded in mid-air.

As she dropped towards Elise, Yukiyo readied her right dagger to slash at her opponent's neck. Dodging Yukiyo's initial attack, Elise rolled to the right, but Yukiyo's left dagger was also set, and immediately stabbed downwards at Elise as she was coming out of her roll. The blade barely missed Elise's head. Acting on instinct, Elise performed a backwards roll, adrenaline numbing the pain in her shoulder, and used her momentum to again get to her feet, but Yukiyo was still right there, slashing fiercely at her. Elise was barely able to dodge Yukiyo's continual attacks, moving steadily backwards. While concentrating on Yukiyo, Elise didn't notice that she was nearing the edge of the floor's pattern, and as she was about to take a step back her foot was stopped. It was only now that Elise came to the realization that the darkness surrounding the area had become surprisingly solid, forming a round wall at the edge of the floor pattern. In this moment of confusion Yukiyo thrust her left dagger forward and cut a gash into Elise's side below her ribs. Another yell of pain escaped Elise's lips as she covered her new injury. Meanwhile Yukiyo laughed and said, "You still don't get it, do you? Well, let me teach you. Lesson one: pain. Going back to your body will involve immense physical pain, like none you've felt before. Of course, I could just get that whole phase over and done with right now." While Yukiyo chuckled, Elise merely stared at her, her breathing heavy. "What?" Yukiyo asked. "No comeback, Xaos's slave? No desperate questions? Then, I'll cut to the quick!"

Yukiyo's daggers thrust towards Elise's neck, but at the last second, Elise managed to dodge underneath the attack. As her blades ricocheted off the barrier behind Elise Yukiyo was momentarily thrown off-balance, allowing Elise to push herself towards her enemy and ram into her. Yukiyo fell backwards, and Elise retreated off to the side to further nurse her injuries. But, in a flash Yukiyo was up again and stalking towards her. "Lesson two:" Yukiyo said, dashing in low to Elise. He crossed his long daggers in front of him and made them slide off of each other just before he reached Elise, creating a glaring metallic sound that echoed in the strange chamber. Elise backed up slightly as Yukio confronted her face-to-face. "Fear," he concluded. "Fear of yourself; fear of others; fear that will never cease for as long as you live, because you never now when you might give into your dark urges. Think you can handle it, Xaos's pet?" Yukio brought his daggers back in towards Elise's neck very slowly, and as they neared her flesh his grin grew steadily wider. Elise again only looked on with pain showing in her eyes, but suddenly that pain turned into anger as Elise deftly brought her knee up.

Yukio lost staggered back as he suddenly lost his breath. Strange, high-pitched sounds were coming from his throat as his eyes went wide. Elise again attempted to put some distance between herself and the bloodthirsty mercenary, heading towards the mirror at the center of the room, but again he recovered quicker than she expected. He charged at her, but she again evaded his blades which, instead of slicing into their target, became lodged in the wooden frame of the mirror. As Elise stumbled backwards, she heard not one voice, but two, say, "Lesson three." She looked up to see that the mirror was splitting her opponent in half, its right side Yukiyo, its left Yukio. "Loneliness," the twisted sight finished. "Do you think you can live out the rest of your days as a thing, a creature? Do you dare go on being something hated by the rest of the entire world? Will you, Xaos's puppet?"

The split image tore its blades from the mirror's thick wooden frame and leapt over it, diving at Elise again. Elise was extremely tired due to both the shock of her injuries as well as her loss of blood, so this time there was nothing she could do to evade her adversary. For a moment she thought she had met her end. Strangely enough, it didn't slash at her, but rather rammed into her, seemingly repaying her favor from earlier, which sent her straight into the wall. Elise's form slid down into a heap leaning against the unseen wall. Her breathing was faint and shallow, her eyes half-open. The arms that might have tried to fight back against the bounty hunter were instead wrapped around her so that her blood-soaked hands could try to cover her injuries. "Pathetic," escaped its lips, the word barely audible to Elise. "I had thought you'd have more in you, but it looks like your stubborn streak just ended. Too bad… because this is where you die, Elise Redd!" What was simultaneously Yukio and Yukiyo raised its daggers high and swung them down at Elise's neck.

While she couldn't find the strength to move her body, Elise's mind was truly removed from her situation. Rather than taking in the faint glow being reflected off the deadly blades in front of her, she was instead delving into her memories. They all came to her, both ones she knew very well and ones she had only experienced after her recent revelations, and seemed to filter through her mind, one-by-one. Her childhood memories quickly slipped through her mental sieve, but as she reaffirmed her awareness of more recent events she paused to study various moments in time, to almost compare them. When she first joined the Resistance; the death throes of the Avriem; wanting very badly to restore General Tigerclaw's health; ripping open a young man's throat; steeling her resolve to destroy the Pearl of De'Kashra, even if it obliterated her. 'Good… and bad… as one,' she repeated in her mind.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Elise raised her hands in front of her, pairs of fingers moving closely together, directly in the daggers' paths. The dual persona received an unexpected shock as, before its weapons reached their mark, they encountered resistance, running into something metallic. Blinking in confusion, it again looked down to see that its daggers had been interrupted by a segmented metal staff being held firm in the hands its prey. Looking past the staff, its eyes met two others, their red irises almost glowing with intensity. It was as if that color had drawn itself from the blood that no longer remained on her hands, shoulder, and waist. Her brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed as she began to push back against the dual persona, and it did begin to back up under the sudden pressure. "It's… not… that… easy!" said Elise Redd, once again standing on her own two feet.

The split image staggered back, suddenly becoming just Yukio again. Elise burst forth in a strong charge against Yukio, swinging her staff diagonally at him. Yukio's blades intercepted, but rather than enter into another contest of raw strength, Elise suddenly moved her staff downwards, causing Yukio to stumble and allowing her to side-step around him, hitting him in the back with a blow from her staff. As Yukio stumbled forwards he pivoted on one foot and leapt at Elise, turning in mid-air with his long daggers outstretched like a deadly top. Elise deftly rolled under this attack, and swung her staff at Yukio's legs as she came out of her roll, sending him tumbling across the floor. Yukiyo, having reached the small area of red in the main white portion of the floor, stood back up and blared at Redd, who glared right back. They circled around the mirror to the large red portion of floor near the edge of the area, where Yukiyo swiftly stabbed at Elise with both blades. Seeing this as her best opportunity, Elise brought her staff up lengthwise, deflecting Yukiyo's blades up and away from her. Continuing her momentum, Elise brought her staff back with her right hand and began to twirl it rapidly, bringing it back around to strike Yukiyo, who was still moving somewhat towards her. The spinning staff caught Yukiyo underneath her chin, sending her head as well as her body, swiftly back. Elise gripped her staff firmly in both hands and thrust it forwards at Yukiyo's sternum. If the staff's end hadn't been blunt, it very well may have pierced Yukiyo's flesh as it slammed into her, but Elise didn't stop there. She ran forward, finding little resistance from Yukiyo, and drove her into the wall. Summoning her strength with a determined yell in her throat, Elise used the wall as leverage to lift Yukiyo into the air on the end of her staff. Then, with as much force as she could muster, Elise swung her back down in the opposite direction to ram her into the ground.

Yukiyo was in a state of complete and utter shock. Her eyes were wide open, but her pupils had become mere pinpoints. Her mouth lolled open as she desperately gasped for the air that her injured diaphragm couldn't bring to her lungs. Yukiyo's limbs had gone limp, her glasses shattered into pieces on the floor. The pendant on her neck had fallen to the side and was lying on the ground. Elise walked up to the stunned Yukiyo. "You're wrong about me," she began as Yukiyo struggled to look at where the voice was coming from. "It's true that Xaos made me his puppet when he turned me, but you put those strings on yourself of your own volition, so don't think you're better than me." Elise looked to the pendant, briefly studying its pattern of Ying and Yang, and raised her staff. "This doesn't suit you," she concisely said, and brought her staff down, shattering the pendant. Yukiyo let out an unworldly scream, as suddenly her form seemed to melt into the floor, until nothing of hers was left. The pattern on the floor slowly disappeared, and things returned to how they had been.

"Well done, Elise Redd," said the old Kalimundi.

Elise jumped slightly at the old Kalimundi's sudden return. Putting her staff away, she began to walk towards him. "Too bad it wasn't the real Yukiyo," she commented. "When did you get back, anyway?"

"A moment ago," he said. "You have done well to conquer your Doubt, Elise. Now you are truly ready to return to your body."

"Right, the mirror," she said as she turned to face it.

"Elise," the old Kalimundi interrupted, "there is more you should know. Doubt can create false impressions in one's mind, as I'm sure you know. As such, only one of its statements was, in fact, true."

Elise turned back to the old Kalimundi, puzzled over what exactly he meant. She thought back to the fight, and to her Doubt's three "lessons." She remembered its statements, and as she analyzed them she came to a startling realization. "Then," she started, "you mean…?"

"Yes," the aged Kalimundi said.

Elise smiled broadly as she thought of the possibilities, and turned again to go, but stopped herself halfway to the mirror. "Listen," she began, "I don't know how long it will take, but we'll bring down Xaos. I'll figure out a way to reach everyone that's been turned, to strengthen their will. When that happens, we'll break Xaos's spell. Then, you can rest, old man."

"Aetumlhados," said the old Kalimundi.

"Is that Kalimundi for 'good luck,' or something?" asked Elise.

"No," he replied. "My name. My name was Aetumlhados."

"I'll see you again, someday," Elise said.

"I will wait for that day," said Aetumlhados.

Re-brandishing her staff, Elise walked to the mirror. Looking, she finally found herself reflected in its glass. She took a moment to study herself, as if she was confirming once and for all who she was. Readying her staff behind her she made a leaping thrust at the mirror's face and shattered it. As the pieces of glass fell from their frame light poured from underneath them and was reflected in all directions by the numerous shards. Elise herself was enveloped in that light and for a moment, she thought she could see and hear Aetumlhados once more. 'Your answers lie in two places: beneath the burning sands of time, and across the bounds of space, limitlessly near. Elise Redd, good luck.' The shining brightness began to fade to a familiar darkness, and then, finally, Elise Redd awoke.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The sun began to rise over the eastern mountains as the two guards standing at the castle gate switched positions yet again. It had only been a short while since they had been roused from their sleep and told to take these positions, relieving the two Fallen that had been previously standing watch. Well, it wasn't like the Fallen needed relief, anyway, but this sudden and early call to duty certainly was unexpected. They had received barely enough time to get their armor on before coming out here, but from what they could see there didn't seem to be any kind of emergency. Maybe they were testing their readiness? Who knew? The sun's rays began to shine a bit more brightly through the dark clouds that perpetually cloaked this region, and as the two guards switched places yet again both of them heard something strange coming from across the bridge, in the forest. It wasn't any wild creature, but it wasn't normal speech either. After a few moments, they could hear a distinct tonic scale, followed by progressive thirds in the same octave. The guards looked at each other for a moment, but turned back to see a lone figure walking slowly across the bridge. They reached for their weapons, but before their hands reached their destination, the lone man began to sing.

"_Oh, when e'er I'm on a distant shore,_

_Weigh-hey, and up she rises!_

_I'm always thinkin' of the one I adore._

_Weigh-hey, and up she rises!_

_Raise on up that sail,_

_To carry us cross by the mighty gale,_

_And though I live upon the sea,_

_At shore you'll wait a time for me."_

The two guards stared intently at the strange man walking towards them. He was wearing a simple cloak that covered most of his body, with equally uninteresting boots on his feet. He did, however, have a striking, yet unkempt, head of red hair, as well as an eye-patch that covered his left eye. It was strange because, despite their presence and the castle's ominous exterior, the man just continued to walk towards the two guards, going into another verse of his song.

_"Oh, it's true I'll take a drink or two,_

_Weigh-hey, and up she rises!_

_But when I do I'll drink to you._

_Weigh-hey and up she rises!_

_Raise on up that sail,_

_To carry us cross by the mighty gale,_

_And though I live upon the sea,_

_At shore you'll wait a time for me."_

Thoroughly confused by this situation, the two guards simply looked at each other and shrugged, each putting his hand to his sword. They watched the strange man closely, watching for any sign of dubious intent. The singing man with the eye-patch went into a third verse.

"_And though I'd meet a pretty girl,_

_Weigh-hey, and up she rises!_

_She's the string, but you're the pearl._

_Weigh-hey, and up she rises!_

_Raise on up that sail,_

_To carry us cross by the mighty gale,_

And though I live upon the sea…" 

During his last repetition of the chorus the odd man held out "sea" in a long, sustained note whose high pitch soon got to the two guards. As they drew their swords the strange singer continued to hold the note almost effortlessly. Deciding between themselves that this man had doomed himself from the start, they moved to strike him. However, before they could lay arms on the mysterious troubadour they were met by two bolts of energy, one a shocking bright yellow, the other an etherial blue, that sent them slamming into the castle gate, knocking them both out. After this sudden happening, the man on the bridge stopped his high note, looking curiously at the two unconscious guards. "Well," DeFrain said with an air of contempt, "they obviously don't appreciate the fine arts."

"Come on, pirate!" Ehud shouted as he ran towards the gate, his large polished plates of armor rattling slightly in response to his movement. Tigerclaw was right behind him, her face showing a focused determination while the strips of tanned leather composing the skirt portion of her light armor flapped about. Theodore brought up the rear, both hands holding tightly to The Clawed Staff. DeFrain meanwhile quickly removed his cloak, showing that he had re-adorned himself in his usual outfit with his epee sheathed at his side, and as he donned his feathered hat he called after them, "Right!"

…

Meanwhile, Mellek Xaos had easily become aware of the commotion outside. Waving his hands simultaneously he closed off his connections with the pocket dimensions holding the twin pearls. Then, slamming his palms onto the armrests of his throne he stood and walked towards the other end of the room. While his powerful strides sounded in the nearly empty chamber he called out to his minion, 'Kohain!' Obviously sensing the urgency in his master's voice, Kohain Ravime appeared beside Xaos, almost bowing before realizing Xaos's movement, then matched his pace. "What is the trouble, master?" Kohain asked.

"It is a wonder how you remained unawares, but the castle is being attacked," Xaos answered.

"Attacked?" Kohain repeated. "By the Resistance?"

"Who else would dare?" Xaos said simply. "Take command of the troops, Kohain."

"Me?" Kohain asked, bewildered.

"You doubt my reasons?" Xaos presented, stopping and turning to face the wizard.

"N-no, of course not, master," Kohain apologized.

"Just get down there," the Dark Lord commanded.

"Y-yes, master," Kohain said as he turned and quickly exited down to the lower levels of the castle. After the door to Xaos's chamber creaked shut he turned his head to seemingly look through the castle walls towards where the Resistance members were entering the castle, his helmet making a small sound as it contacted the collar of his body armor. This move, he thought, was quite unexpected, but even more foolish. What could Tigerclaw hope to accomplish with her numbers so drastically reduced by their last encounter? Why take such a risk? Yet, he couldn't deny that this was a convenient opportunity to wipe out the rest of the Resistance. His castle guard and Fallen troops were more than enough for such a task. And if not, his power would trample them to dust, here and now. After all, he only needed what was lying there at his feet, sleeping unawares.

…

"So, this is the lion's den, huh?" DeFrain commented, after which he made a quick aside to Tigerclaw. "Pardon the expression, General." He and the other Resistance members had, so far, encountered little opposition as they made their way through the castle. It was indeed strange that their sudden entrance wasn't met with a harsher response, but at this point nothing could deter them from entering deep into the castle's interior. They soon came to a large set of double-doors that were quickly burst open, after which the group moved into what would have been a courtyard if it didn't have a ceiling. Indeed, it was big enough in area to be a courtyard, but it's roof, held up by columns at regular intervals, made it otherwise. On each column there were a pair of lights. Not torches, but rather what appeared to be small balls of magical energy that provided the area with at least some illumination. Everyone proceeded cautiously into the large open space, as it seemed to be the perfect place to spring a trap.

Once the group reached what appeared to be the center of the room, Tigerclaw signaled them to halt. Her sensitive hearing was picking up something nearby, but she couldn't quite make out what it was. It sounded somewhat like the wind that passed through small openings in-between the rocks of Ophei Canyon, but subtly different. Tigerclaw was left no more time to ponder, however, as suddenly a thick black smoke seemed to pour out of the small spaces between the stones that paved the room's floor. The smoke rose up and surrounded the Resistance members, isolating them from each other. A short distance away Kohain almost chuckled to himself as he saw the Resistance members fall straight into his trap. Pointing with his staff, he ordered a group of castle guards to enter into the smoke cloud and eliminate the pests that had intruded into the castle. The guards eagerly obeyed and only a short time later a series of muffled cries were heard, accompanied by the sound of bodies dropping to the floor. To this, Kohain immediately interpreted success and, with a wave of his staff, began to disperse the concealing vapors. However, when the smoke had dispersed he was met with a sight he didn't expect. Only one figure was standing, that of the pirate DeFrain, facing away from him. The other Resistance members, as well as the guards he had sent into the smoke were all on the floor. After a momentary pause the other Resistance members stood up, but his guards remained motionless on the castle floor. DeFrain turned about, his eye-patch lifted to reveal his all-seeing eye. He looked to Xaos's minion and shrugged, his epee wielded casually in his right hand. "So predictable, Kohain," DeFrain commented.

Kohain snarled in response to DeFrain's cutting remark and stepped forward. "Well," he began, "now that the… pleasantries are out of the way, why don't you tell me just what you scum are doing here."

"We just came to reclaim something of ours," Tigerclaw explained as she also stepped forward.

"If you think you can recover the pearls, General," Kohain countered, "you're sorely mistaken."

"So be it," replied Tigerclaw.

To this unexpected reply Kohain's expression slipped. The search for the two pearls was what had been the driving force behind the Resistance's plans in the past. What else was here that they were after? Not wanting to waste time, Kohain again smirked and announced to the room, "Everyone, get them."

Out of the shadows the rest of Kohain's castle guard made themselves known. The force was spread out to encircle the Resistance members who were isolated at the room's center. In a formal fashion they began to draw their swords as they neared the rebel group and as the blades grew near Tigerclaw and the rest knew that they were in for the fight of their lives.

…

It was at that moment that Elise Redd's eyes opened. In that instant she attempted to take in her surroundings, but another feeling quickly made its presence known in her mind. Pain flooded into her thoughts from a short distance away, and she was just able to recognize that her face was its origin. She wanted to cry out, but quickly found that she couldn't for she had no mouth to do so. Instead her eyes shut, and her clawed hands instantly moved to grip at her features. Elise's natural impulse to yell was transformed into a low, but loud his that seemed to echo around her. Soon she found that her tensed hands and arms weren't distracting her from the pain enough, and so she began to thrash and convulse on the floor, all the while hissing. In her mind Elise was struggling to take control. She was facing down the worst part of herself, trying to command it after it had been the one in charge for so long. Thinking back to her experiences, she recalled her own words, "Good and bad as one." She knew that these impulses were a part of her, but she needed to find somewhere to direct them. Something; anything to distract herself from the numbing pain she was experiencing.

Mellek Xaos, only a step away, was quite aware of Elise's strange behavior, but couldn't find a reason to explain it. This Fallen shouldn't have been able to break free of Kohain's enchantment on its own. Or, perhaps, had Kohain ended the enchantment himself? However, he hadn't felt the necessary magical energies required in such a feat. Seeking answers from his minion he subconsciously turned his head to one side in the direction of Kohain, the sound of metal-against-metal hanging in the air as the edge of his helmet contacted the collar of his body armor. He uttered, "Ko" That was all that he could say, for suddenly something was upon him.

Elise, in her search for something to direct her rage towards, had noted something from one of her senses that wasn't blocked by pain, her hearing. The recognition of that metallic noise had keyed a trigger in her mind, and in an instant she lashed out. Her body, curled on the floor, unwound into a pouncing motion as she simultaneously turned and leapt at Xaos. Her arms stretched out to grasp his massive frame, and as her head moved instinctively forward she felt one last burst of pain, a tearing sensation that allowed her to complete her attack. In-between the gap below Xaos's helmet and his body armor Elise had managed to bite down with her teeth into the neck of the Dark Lord. Mellek Xaos's eyes looked down to the face of his attacker and, although most of her appearance remained unchanged, he noted the intense stare of two bright red irises looking back into his own. In a moment that seemed like an eternity, Mellek Xaos was afraid of the thing that seemed to peer into his very soul.

Acting on impulse, the Dark Lord's hand reached up and grabbed Elise's midsection firmly. His fear quickly transformed into anger as he, with magically enhanced strength, pulled Elise off of himself. He could feel the flesh of his neck rip as Elise's teeth were forcibly removed. Ignoring the pain, he continued the swing of his arm, flinging Elise across the room. As she turned in mid-air to land on the throne room floor, she saw Mellek Xaos falter slightly and bring a hand up to his neck. The Dark Lord cast a quick spell to help his wound begin to heal, but he'd need something else to fully recover from such a grievous injury. Regaining his composure, his hand seemed to reach for something that wasn't there, and suddenly he was wielding the Sword of Shadows, pointed directly at figure on the other side of the room. Her eyes still glared at him with an unearthly intensity. "It seems that you were not content being my servant after all, Elise Redd. If that is the case, then you will perish alongside the rest of the Resistance."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

From her left a guard swung his sword in a downward arc towards Tigerclaw. Sensing the attack through her honed skills in combat, the General easily sidestepped the blade. As the Xaos-loyal soldier tried to redirect his weapon Tigerclaw quickly moved her foot to slam down on the man's sword hand. Just as she expected, the guard tried to hold onto his sword and, using that tension as leverage, she pushed off the guard's hand, bringing her other foot strike his head. As the guard recoiled so did Tigerclaw, only his fall wasn't nearly as graceful as hers. Landing after her mid-air flip, she heard the body of the guard drop noisily to the floor. Her eyes darted around her to check on both her allies and her opponents.

Behind her DeFrain was holding his own against a number of castle guards, their blows being interrupted and redirected by his epee. Like he usually did, the pirate was taking his time to wear down his opponents and look for weaknesses in their defense. The three guards that had ganged up on him were all becoming frustrated that this one man was keeping in time with all of them. DeFrain, seeing a shift in one guard's aura, DeFrain watched closely to see how he would attack. As the guard reared his sword back DeFrain quickly thrust his sword into the gap in the soldier's armor near his shoulder, causing him to drop his sword. Taking full advantage, DeFrain continued his attack by arcing the epee out to slice into the neck of another soldier who had just turned his head to look at his injured comrade. After this, the third guard came at DeFrain from behind, but he deftly rolled under the attack, losing his hat in the process. Noticing this, he went on the offensive, quick "ha"s noting each of his attacks against the guard. As he neared where his hat lay on the ground his foot reached out and went into the bowl of his tri-corner. With a flick of his ankle the hat jumped up in-between the two combatants, and as the confused guard looked at the airborne hat he was quickly dealt with by a stab to the midsection. The seafarer caught his hat in his left hand, quickly donning it before he was again confronted by the castle's defenses.

Ehud didn't have DeFrain's flair, but he was also fending off multiple attackers at the group's opposite flank. Swinging his broadsword in wide arcs he kept the majority of the guards around him at bay. One tried to attack him from the side, but the round shield strapped to Ehud's forearm blocked his sword. Shoving the enemy weapon away, Ehud followed through with a mighty slash of his broadsword, the great weapon crashing into the torso armor of the guard. Others tried to flank Ehud while the now incapacitated guard was attacking, but Ehud followed through, using both hands to swing the sword sideways. It not only cut into one guard but also drove him into a few others, sending them sprawling across the floor while Ehud's yell reverberated in the dark chamber.

Meanwhile, Ted had his hands full with the castle guard that he was facing. Compared to Ted, this guard was particularly imposing, and Ted couldn't hope to match him in raw strength. Luckily his shorter stature made him a smaller target. The guard's slashes were threatening, to say the least, and Ted was having a hard time dodging. At one point, thinking he could get an attack in, swung the Clawed Staff around to strike at the guard, but after being hit in the head the guard simply let out a small chuckle. The menacing castle guard raised his sword and swung down at Ted, and the apprentice mage just had enough time to move the Clawed Staff to block the attack. As he began to buckle under the pressure of the guards attack Ted's armored foe once again laughed. Strangely enough, Ted laughed too. Gripping the Clawed Staff firmly Ted let out a yell and suddenly a blast of energy shot forth at point-blank range against his opponent. The guard flew backwards into a pair of other soldiers, toppling them over.

Suddenly, another guard tried to flank Ted, but Tigerclaw was there to intercept. Her fists glowed with a fiery energy and as the guard moved his blade against Ted her left hand stretched forward. The power of her palm easily deflected the blade, and as the guard stumbled back her right hand swung at him in a fist. Burning with ethereal fire, her punch landed on the guard's torso, and after he fell back onto the ground he yelled while trying to undo his breastplate, as the area near where Tigerclaw had hit him was quickly melting. Tigerclaw moved back, and the Resistance members all tightened their circle as more guards moved into position.

"Kill Tigerclaw, you fools!" Kohain shouted. "Rid them of their precious leader!"

Acting on Kohain's order a number of guards started in towards the Resistance members, their target General Tigerclaw. Ehud, Ted, and DeFrain surrounded their General and began to block and ward off the castle guards from reaching Tigerclaw. However, one zealous guard charged forward and thrust his sword at Tigerclaw's midsection. Tigerclaw yelled out in pain, and almost instantly the guard's thrust was met by DeFrain's own thrust, quickly ending the guard's life. DeFrain turned to Tigerclaw and took hold of her. "…General!" he said, and in an instant both were gone in a puff of smoke. Across the room Kohain laughed maniacally. Ehud growled in anger, while Theodore shouted, "You'll pay for that, Kohain!"

"Really?" laughed Kohain. "Then come over here and get me," he proposed from behind a veritable wall of guards. With a determined look, Ehud and Ted began to do just that.

Outside the castle gate, DeFrain and Tigerclaw reappeared. Smiling to himself, DeFrain took a moment to comment, "You know, General, we'll have to thank Kohain for giving us the perfect opening we needed."

"Later," Tigerclaw said. "_Much_ later." She began to run at a good clip towards the edge of the forest. With a casual wave to his General, DeFrain once again disappeared in a puff of smoke.

What had once been hissing had turned into a growl deep in Elise's throat that was distinctly her own voice. All her anger was now focused on one thing: Mellek Xaos. Her desire to finally rid the world of him soon could not contain itself and boiled over as she took a running leap at him, her claws poised to attack. As she flew towards him, Xaos swung his sword back and raised his left hand, his palm facing Elise. Almost casually he uttered the words, "_Gravatae griosso_," after which Elise suddenly wasn't leaping towards the Dark Lord anymore. His spell had brought her suddenly to the throne room floor, crashing with a thud. As she tried to resume her attack she found that it was at once extremely difficult to raise herself off the floor. Trying to fight back against this unseen force, Elise realized that her efforts to stand were in vain, so she quickly changed tactics. Shifting her weight more towards her right arm, Elise pushed against the floor with her legs, sending her into a roll which, with aid from momentum and carefully timed movements, brought her back on course at Xaos.

Silently noting Elise's ingenuity, Xaos readied the Sword of Shadows to attack Elise as she came rapidly towards him. Bringing it around with his right arm, he took the cursed blade in both hands as he performed a vertical chop at Elise. However, rather than cut into flesh, Xaos discovered that his sword was cutting into the stone floor of the throne room. Moments before, Elise had caught Xaos's movement and leapt out of her roll, no longer affected by Xaos's prior spell. Latching onto a nearby pillar momentarily, she leaped back at the Dark Lord, using her claws to carve a number grooves into the front of his breastplate. Xaos responded by bringing up his left hand in a fist to swing at Elise's midsection. However, the metal claws on his gauntlet only managed to cut into Elise's right arm as she quickly leapt away from him. Elise yelled in pain as she backed off momentarily.

Up ahead Tigerclaw could see Skythropos standing silently as he usually did, looking to Xaos's castle, which was separated from them by a deep ravine. Skythropos turned his head to look as Tigerclaw arrived like a mighty gust of wind. "I take it that events are playing out according to the plan," the Kalimundi asked.

"As well as they can be," Tigerclaw replied. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Skythropos simply stated. He lifted his hands towards the wall of Xaos's castle. Energy seemed to flow off of his six fingers like waves in a body of water. Tigerclaw followed suit, but in a much more dramatic manner. Summoning her inner strength, the General yelled while her two fists were suddenly surrounded by bluish fire. That yell seemed to turn into a primal roar as the fire grew and danced about her hands. After both had gathered the energy they needed, Tigerclaw's fists punched towards the castle wall where Skythropos's hands were also aimed. Surreal flames lanced out at the castle wall at the same time a red blast of energy shot forth from Skythropos. Impacting the castle wall at the same time, the two blasts created an explosion of rock and dust. The two Resistance members continued their assault, and eventually broke through the outer wall of the castle. Continuing, their energy began to burst through interior walls and floors of the castle, seeking out a certain particular room.

After DeFrain had reappeared to rejoin the battle he, Ehud, and Theodore had kept their group tight as they fought against the castle guards that continued to surround them. As they fought back, they carefully made their way to the side of the room. Hugging the wall, they took great care to avoid the blows of their enemies. Soon, the three found themselves surrounding a wooden door.

"Isn't this where we part ways?" DeFrain asked, parrying a guard's sword with his epee.

"You're the one with the weird eye!" Ehud shot back as he swung his round shield to strike at the head of another castle guard. "You tell me!" The pirate took a moment to glance upwards while holding back the enemy sword then, without looking, counterattacked by stabbing they guard.

"No doubt about it, Ehud," DeFrain responded. "Theodore, if you would…"

"Right!" Ted shouted as he quickly erected a magical barrier that none of the guards' weapons could penetrate. While their swords bounced off the invisible wall, Ehud turned and swung the door wide open to reveal a spiraling staircase leading upwards.

"Good luck," Ehud said as he quickly began to climb the stairs.

"Same to you," DeFrain said as he shut the door.

Meanwhile, Kohain had noticed that his troops had suddenly stopped attacking. Reaching out, he could sense that magic was being used. Taking angry steps forward he shouted to his soldiers, "Move!" Turning to look back, the castle guards quickly created an open pathway that led in a straight line to where DeFrain and Ted were. Pointing his staff in their direction, a powerful orb of magic shot towards the two Resistance members. Falling prone to the floor, DeFrain and Ted escaped the full effect of the blast as is impacted the wall behind them. Dust and debris were sent flying every which way, resulting in the awkward situation where the castle guards could barely see each other, not to mention their targets. Looking to see how his attack had fared, a figure burst forth from the dust cloud. Suddenly, Kohain went on the defensive as Ted swung his staff at the wizard. Blocking the blow with his own staff, Kohain smirked. "So, the little fool wants revenge," he posed.

"Not right now, Kohain," Ted explained as he continued to attack.

"_Glacius convergium,_" Xaos said, and almost immediately sharp pillars of ice seemed to erupt from the throne room floor to attack Elise. Even her nimble body had trouble dodging the chilly stalagmites as they lanced out at her. Seeing no other recourse, Elise decided to once again attack Xaos at close range, as that was really all she could do in this form. Taking a curved route as the ice pillars continued to erupt, she again leapt at Xaos's massive form. In response, the Dark Lord shifted both his hands to grip the Sword of Shadows as it moved to parry Elise's attack. Her clawed hands ran into the blade, and the momentum of the rest of her body brought her feet around to slash at Xaos's arms. Xaos responded by swinging the Sword of Shadows to the side with Elise still riding on it. Startled, Elise hung on to the huge sword while Xaos moved to swing it downwards in an attempt to smash Elise into the floor, rending her in two. As she felt the sword begin to swing down Elise jumped off of it, landing face-up on the floor. Rolling quickly to the side she barely avoided the impact of the sword. Noting his miss, Xaos maneuvered the Sword of Shadows into a sideways position and sliced across the floor in an upward curve. Elise was one step ahead of his attack though, and stopped her roll to lay as flat on the floor as possible, the blade barely passing above her back. She scrambled to her feet again to avoid another downward stab of Xaos's sword.

Putting more energy into his swordplay, Xaos continued to come at Elise, his strikes always avoided at a narrow margin by Elise. Their battle moved quickly around the room, eventually bringing them back to the forward part of the room where Elise had previously laid asleep. After a quick series of near misses, both Elise and Xaos took a pause. Elise's breathing was heavy from the strenuous battle, and as she looked on she noticed that Xaos was also feeling the effects of combat. His figure, usually statuesque and near motionless, was slightly bent over. She could hear the reverberation of his breathing within his armored helmet. Wanting to secure her position, she took a step back, but suddenly noticed something. Her foot had hit something wet. Elise's realization came a moment too late, as the melted ice from Xaos's prior attack re-froze up around her legs. Before she could attempt to break free from the trap Xaos rushed forward, swinging the Sword of Shadows in a downward chop. Elise raised her hands just in time, and her claws interrupted Xaos's strike, holding back the massive sword from slashing into her. Xaos pressed his attack, and Elise could barely summon the strength to hold on.

DeFrain took down yet another guard and began to retreat from the rest. Numerous cuts showed on his limbs where various guards' swords had struck him. In his mind, he didn't know how much longer he could hold off these guards by himself. 'I must be getting soft,' he thought. 'I'm too used to having Blackbeak watch my back.'

Meanwhile Kohain and Theodore were still fighting each other, the guards nearby unsure of whether they should join in or not without order from Kohain. Ted was still engaging Kohain with physical attacks from the Clawed Staff while Kohain countered with his own magical weapon. The wizard found that he was beginning to fatigue from Ted's continual strikes so, when he saw his opportunity, quickly stepped back out of the way of one of Ted's strikes. Ted stepped forward to take another swing at the evil sorcerer, but suddenly he ran into something that sent a shock through his body. Kohain had erected a magical barrier charged with lightning in the moments before Ted's attempted attack, and now he looked on the youth with a wry grin. Pointing his staff at Theodore, Kohain made a small circular motion with it just before flames erupted around the apprentice mage. Ted pulled his cloak up near his face to shield himself from the sudden onslaught. Laughing, Kohain said, "Admit it, boy. Your mastery of magic is nowhere near mine!"

From inside his fiery prison Ted replied, "I hate to admit it, but for once you are right, Kohain Ravime." At this Kohain's grin widened, but he soon noticed strange movement from inside the wall of flame. Something leapt out of the fire spell, which Kohain belatedly realized was Ted's long black cloak. Looking to the side, he almost didn't notice another something leap out of the spell. This time it was Theodore himself, seemingly unfazed, and holding something other than the Clawed Staff in his hands. Fear suddenly struck Kohain's being as Theodore swung the Phoenix Blade down. As it came into contact with Kohain's magic barrier a line of fire appeared at its edge that quickly spread and burnt down the unseen shield. "But, Kohain," Ted continued, standing in a dark outfit with light battle gear and a scabbard, "your prowess in battle is nowhere near mine!"

Elise struggled to keep her grip on the Sword of Shadows steady. If she let the sword mortally wound her again she could die, or its spell could take control of her again, making all of this for naught. As she stared down the edge of the sword she suddenly felt a strange sensation course through her body. Moments later a great pain struck her hands, and she yelled out in pain as her grip on the sword tightened. Her head bent low as she screamed out, so she didn't see how the claws on her hands split into her familiar five fingers. Xaos was startled by this gruesome change, and so lifted his sword away from Elise. She meanwhile grabbed at her body as she could feel the pain spreading slowly to it. In this state she could no longer put op a fight against the Dark Lord.

"What a pity, Elise Redd," Xaos began, "to see your end coming with not a yell, but a whimper. I will put you out of your misery!" Xaos again readied his sword with a mighty yell, and swung down at the vulnerable Elise. However, before his sword could cut down the vulnerable Elise, it was interrupted by another blade. Standing beside Xaos was the determined Ehud, using all his strength to hold back the Sword of Shadows with his broadsword. Moments earlier, he had burst into the room via the door behind Xaos and instantly moved to protect Elise who, strangely enough, had come under attack by the Dark Lord.

"I won't let you, Xaos!" Ehud shouted.

"E-Ehud…" Elise muttered in-between her groans of agony.

"More obstinate resistance," Xaos commented as shifted his weight to compete against Ehud. "Perhaps it was a mistake to leave command of the guard to Kohain."

"You'll find you've got quite a few vulnerabilities yourself, Xaos," Ehud said as he swiftly backed off from Xaos, leaving the Dark Lord in-between himself and Elise. Mellek Xaos pondered Ehud's words for a critical moment just before he heard a strange rumble approaching. With a bang the wall Xaos was standing near exploded, forcing him back until Tigerclaw's and Skythropos's energy attacks struck him, sending him sprawling across the throne room floor. Before the Dark Lord could recover, Ehud quickly ran to Elise and began to break up the ice surrounding her.

Outside, Tigerclaw fell to one knee, extremely fatigued from her continual use of her special ability. Looking to Skythropos, she heaved, "They… are… all… yours." She lowered her head and breathed heavily, attempting to recover what energy she could. Skythropos raised his hands to his sides and began waving them in intense yet controlled motions not unlike the flair of a symphonic conductor. He reached towards the castle and closed his grip. In that instant Ehud and Elise could feel themselves lifted off the ground by a supernatural force and were quickly whisked out of the castle by the route Skythropos and Tigerclaw had blasted open. Ehud returned his broadsword to the straps on the back of his torso armor and cradled Elise in his arms. He could faintly hear her mutter something as they moved through the air. "I am… I am…" she repeated again and again.

Meanwhile, Kohain was running from Ted as he swung his sword at the craven sorcerer. DeFrain was holding off other guards, but for a moment took the time to gaze upwards. Smiling to himself, he announced to his attackers, "So sorry, but I really must go." With that he disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the guards near him in a muddle. He reappeared in the air just above Kohain, landing on the bewildered magician. "Time to go, Ted," he called out to his ally, and after taking a hold of him teleported the two of them outside to the bridge of the castle.

Sheathing the Phoenix Blade, Ted ran with the pirate swiftly away from the castle towards the woods. Nearby, Tigerclaw stood back up as she saw Ehud and Elise quickly arriving from across the Ravine. "Split up!" she ordered. "Meet back at the rendezvous! DeFrain and Ted, remember that special order I gave you!" Both Ted and DeFrain looked at the General while trying to see if they could catch a glimpse of the rescued Elise. DeFrain, with his supernatural sight, was naturally the first to do so. Immediately after that, he tugged Ted away in the opposite direction.

"DeFrain?" Ted asked. "Why couldn't I at least call out to her?"

"Let's just say that someone your age should save their welcomes for later," DeFrain explained with a smirk.

"Huh?" Ted muttered, a bit bewildered.

The Resistance members each escaped back into the forest before any of Xaos's forces could even exit the castle.

…

Teleporting himself into the throne room of his master, Kohain Ravine made a quick bow and began, "My lord, the enemy force has been repelled from…" The sorcerer couldn't finish his overoptimistic report as he began to survey his battered surroundings. A gigantic hole had been torn in the forward wall of the room, and the aftereffects of what must have been ice spells created an eerie chill in the air. Numerous grooves had been cut into the floor and ceiling. As he looked on in awe, he noticed his master, Mellek Xaos, kneeling nearby, the Sword of Shadows in his right hand. Kohain slowly approached the Dark Lord. "M-my lord?"

After a moment Xaos raised himself to his feet, regaining his imposing stature over Kohain. Still looking away from the sorcerer he said, "Elise Redd has escaped."

"Oh," Kohain muttered. "So, that's what that scheming Tigerclaw was after. Well, I see no real issue in that. The guards that were injured can easily be replaced, and the loss of a single Fallen is certainly nothing to worry about." As soon as Kohain finished his statement Xaos turned slightly and reached out his left hand to grab the neck of his minion. Lifting Kohain into the air, Xaos, swung him at a nearby pillar, pinning him there.

"No," Xaos began, "but the Resistance regaining a vital member to their cause is! You failed to anticipate their plot and let yourself be woven into their deception! The castle is nearly in ruins and our guard complement has dropped sharply due to your incompetence in command!" While Kohain struggled to breathe, Xaos lifted the Sword of Shadows to point towards Kohain's midsection. "Are you prepared to face the consequences of such a miserable failu" Mellek Xaos stopped mid-sentence, and the frightened Kohain looked to his master. Suddenly he could hear the Dark Lord cough in a sickly manner, and after a heave one cough resulted in blood spraying out of the small opening in his helmet. Xaos quickly dropped Kohain, after which he reached out into the air. In an instant, the Pearl of Da'Cothra was in his hand, and he clutched the jewel close to him as his fit of coughing continued.

Kohain looked on in bewildered silence, his head swimming.


	8. Chapter 8

Epilogue

Slowly, Elise Redd opened her eyes. In a few moments she realized that she was somewhere vastly different from where she had been seemingly moments before. Instead of cold stone walls, above her was a curved roof made from sheets of fan-leaf grass held together with dried clay and mud. She could feel the warmth of sunlight permeating the roof and walls around her, and the tone of the roof materials gave the room around her a distinct coloring. She could feel that she was in a bed of some sort, covered by a thickly woven mat. For a moment she pondered her situation, then attempted to get up. Unfortunately, her body gave her a very sharp response when she tried to do so. Eliciting a sound of pain, she returned to just breathing. Noticing the sound, someone beside her stirred.

"Hmm? Elise?" Tigerclaw said. Elise looked to her side and was greeted by a familiar face. The General's face lit up at her Lieutenant's response and got up from her seat. "Everyone, she's awake!" Tigerclaw called out. Elise heard a jumble of rustling as the other Soldiers of Resistance entered to greet her. Theodore, DeFrain, Blackbeak, Ehud, and Skythropos gathered around Elise's bed and at once displayed their joy at their comrade being awake, except for Skythropos who retained his usual demeanor.

"Elise!" Ted exclaimed. "We were so worried about you!"

"It's good to know you won't be trying to kill us any time soon," DeFrain joked.

"Wawk!" Blackbeak chimed in.

"You guys," Elise said as she took the time to appreciate once again being surrounded by close friends. They all looked just as she remembered them, with the exception being DeFrain, who was covered by bandages in various places. "It's good to see you, too. I take it we all got out of Xaos's castle?"

"We certainly did," DeFrain said. "Although some of us took a few more wounds with us than others."

"Wawk wawk wawk wawk," Blackbeak commented.

"Quiet, you," DeFrain murmured.

"From what I could see," Ehud added, "you were giving Xaos a run for his money before I got there. You might be even tougher than I thought."

"You know it," Elise replied.

"How are you feeling?" Ted asked.

Elise closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "Ted," she began, "my whole body is transforming back without any magical aid." Elise opened her eyes to look at the group for a moment. The area around her right cheek twitched slightly. "It hurts like hell."

"T-then let me help you out!" Ted proposed.

"No!" Elise shot back. "I… I need to get through this on my own."

"Consider, Elise Redd," Skythropos interposed, "that we are both joyous to see that you have returned to us, yet we are also worried that you have not." Skythropos's statement was true, Elise realized. She knew that not all of her body had changed back yet, her feet being just one area that remained incomplete in its transformation. Her skin tone was also still reddish in places. While thinking on this she realized how Skythropos had worded his statement and the look of a sigh came across her face.

"Skyth," she asked, "would you please stop talking in riddles?"

At this the room fell silent. Most blinked absentmindedly until, after a very long moment, DeFrain turned to Ehud. "Ehud," he said, "I think you got the wrong Fallen." At this Ted stifled a chuckle, and Tigerclaw rolled her eyes.

"Yeah," Ehud replied, "I mean, when was the last time you heard Elise say 'please?' Especially when talking to Skythropos?"

"I can't rightly remember," DeFrain answered.

"Maybe she's changed," the warrior hypothesized.

"Or," DeFrain mused, his hand coming up to rub his chin thoughtfully, "maybe Elise had a kind twin sister she never told us about that also had a run-in with Xaos."

"Wawk wawk?" Blackbeak repeated. "Wawk."  
"Guys…" Elise interrupted, their attention turning back to her. "I'm right here. And don't worry," she assured them as her eyes narrowed just slightly, "I haven't changed _that_ much." Another awkward silence hung in the room as Ehud, Blackbeak, and DeFrain looked to each other. They knew what they were in for later. Breaking the moment, Tigerclaw turned to her soldiers.

"All right, everyone," she said, "I think the Lieutenant needs her rest." Catching her drift, the group turned to exit.

"Skyth," Elise called out. "Later, I want to talk to you about something."

"Of course, Elise Redd," Skythropos said.

"And Ted," Elise continued, "if I need your help I'll ask for you, all right?"

"Right," Ted replied.

With that the men left the room, and Tigerclaw returned to her seat beside Elise. Looking in the direction where they had excused themselves, Tigerclaw couldn't help but let out a laugh. Turning to face Elise, she proclaimed, "They're still a bunch of characters, aren't they?"

"Yeah," Elise replied, chuckling to herself a little.

"Elise," Tigerclaw asked, "do you know where you are?"

"I have an idea," Elise answered. Rummaging through her memories, she recalled the distinct features of a certain village she had become quite familiar with. "This is Ravanda, isn't it? They still burn too much damn incense in this place." After her last statement, Elise's eyes strained to look downward. "Hey," she said, "I have a nose again."

"That's right, Lieutenant," Tigerclaw confirmed. "It's a bit ironic, seeing as this is where we first met."

"Oh, yeah," Elise exclaimed in a quiet way.

"Remember how we met on the battlefield, protecting the village from Xaos's army?"

"I remember," Elise replied.

"Xaos had already overrun both our homelands, and turned his attention to the southern lands. We met here by chance, and helped the matron to formulate a defense. But we weren't a match for Xaos's troops in terms of sheer numbers. After we went into hiding with the villagers, we ended up arguing just about every day about what to do."

"Yeah," mused Elise.

"Until you told me the one piece of strategic advice I'll never forget. Remember? You said, 'Now that they're just sitting there in the village, now's the perfect time to kick their…' well, you know," Tigerclaw concluded.

"I was surprised that I actually ended up being right," laughed Elise. Both General and Lieutenant took a moment to laugh to themselves, lost in their memories. After their laughter subsided, Elise took a moment to look closely at Tigerclaw. "General," she asked, "why'd you go to the trouble of rescuing me? How did you know?"

Tigerclaw looked away from Elise slightly. "I didn't know. Looking back on it, it was a bit selfish of me to put my men into such danger for something so uncertain. But…"

"But, what?"

"Elise, ever since you left us things have been even tougher than usual for the Resistance. Everyone seemed to carry around a sense of loss on their shoulders, and I felt that pain as well. After we lost both you and the Avriem, I was left with nearly no one to look to for companionship. So, when the opportunity presented itself, I came back here, to Ravanda. Ever since I set foot in here, it's been like a second home to me; you know that. But, when I did come back, the village was practically falling apart at the seams. Everyone was sick, the matron's son was dead…"

"I'm sorry," Elise interrupted, also looking away.

"Don't be," Tigerclaw replied. "It wasn't really your fault. But, after that, it seemed like everything was falling down around me, and I could do nothing to stop it. I thought that there would be nothing left of what I once had held dear. So, when we found you inside Xaos's castle, I couldn't help but try and get you back, because you mean so much to me; to everyone…" As Tigerclaw's words trailed off Elise looked to the General. To her surprise, tears were slowly travelling down her fur-lined face. "I'm so very glad… that you're back, Elise."

"Hey," Elise complained, tears forming in her eyes as well, "don't do that…"

Outside, the Ravandan villagers were concluding the rites necessary for burying the son of their matron. As the final words were spoken, a great cheer went up through the crowd and a celebration began. According to their beliefs, one who dies for the tribe earns a special seat of honor in the world beyond. However, this was not the only reason for their happiness. With the retrieval of the salve, the village was on its way back to health, and they had the Soldiers of Resistance to thank for that. The festivities continued until after sundown as the village began to sleep, everyone inside awaiting a new dawn more brilliant than the last.

The End


End file.
